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I see the perks for increasing the damage of sneak attacks with swords and daggers, but I've never been able to get close enuf? Dose you're skill need to be pretty high to pull this off. I'm also usually wearing some sort of armor do i need to be in cloths?

It depends on your sneak skill and the level of the enemy your sneaking up on...line of sight, whether it's light or dark, the weight of armour, these also affect how successful you are at sneaking.

If you're having trouble try raising your skill a little by going into a low level dungeon and sneaking everywhere

The "speed" of my sneak also effects how loud i am, yes? Should be moving extreamly slow as i sneak up on them? Or is it not that big of a factor?

Yes, move slowly. The faster you move, the louder your footsteps...armour with the "Muffle" enchantment (Nightingale Boots, Shrouded Boots etc) also help with this. There's also a perk which reduces movement noise from by 50%.

Note: Sleeping Draugr are some of the easiest enemies to sneak up on. Successful sneak attacks, especially melee, also raise the sneak skill.

^ lol I can walk up to draugr wearing a full suit of armor and it takes even then they usually dont hear me

I've done a sneak attack with a dagger yesterday, it was a one-hit-kill, but the second time I tried it, it didn't work. (Then again I was moving a little faster than before...) It is effective, but remember that only daggers are silent at killing, and there is a perk that gives daggers x15 sneak damage.


Until you've gotten to high sneaking prowess, the enemy will have proprioception: The official term for knowing when there is the presence of something else here.

(I had to watch that show Alphas just to get the name again...)

JoeyDestructo wrote:^ lol I can walk up to draugr wearing a full suit of armor and it takes even then they usually dont hear me

i woud guess you have a muffle enchantment?

Theificka wrote:I've done a sneak attack with a dagger yesterday, it was a one-hit-kill, but the second time I tried it, it didn't work. (Then again I was moving a little faster than before...) It is effective, but remember that only daggers are silent at killing, and there is a perk that gives daggers x15 sneak damage.

Not silent. The game claims they are, but as a stabby enthusiast I can tell you for a fact that this is not true. They are quieter than most other weapons, sort of, but will still make noise if you miss on your attack, and trying to do a Power Attack with a dagger will often cause mid and high level opponents to "detect" you before the dagger even hits. This is a MAJOR problem when you're trying to backstab big enemies like Mammoths, although oddly enough dragons don't seem very psychic.

If you want to get the most out of your stabbing, get your hands on a pair of Shrouded Gloves (quest reward for joining/ finding the DB). They double your backstab damage, which means a regualr sword is about on par with a dagger, and a dagger does a whooping 30x damage. Dual wield sneak attacks are even better; if you can get the double-strike power attack to work, you'll get backstab damage with EACH weapon. I like to use a sword and a dagger- 12x + 30x = target is dead. Draugr, Daedra, or dragon, totally dead. It's a bit excessive, I know, but it's very satisfying, especially when your thoroughly-pwned opponent ragdolls across the room like he's been hit with a couple Fus Ro Dahs.

DorostheConqueror wrote:

Theificka wrote:I've done a sneak attack with a dagger yesterday, it was a one-hit-kill, but the second time I tried it, it didn't work. (Then again I was moving a little faster than before...) It is effective, but remember that only daggers are silent at killing, and there is a perk that gives daggers x15 sneak damage.

Not silent. The game claims they are, but as a stabby enthusiast I can tell you for a fact that this is not true. They are quieter than most other weapons, sort of, but will still make noise if you miss on your attack, and trying to do a Power Attack with a dagger will often cause mid and high level opponents to "detect" you before the dagger even hits. This is a MAJOR problem when you're trying to backstab big enemies like Mammoths, although oddly enough dragons don't seem very psychic.

If you want to get the most out of your stabbing, get your hands on a pair of Shrouded Gloves put your hands in a pair of Shrouded Gloves (quest reward for joining/ finding the DB). They double your backstab damage, which means a regualr sword is about on par with a dagger, and a dagger does a whooping 30x damage. Dual wield sneak attacks are even better; if you can get the double-strike power attack to work, you'll get backstab damage with EACH weapon. I like to use a sword and a dagger- 12x + 30x = target is dead. Draugr, Daedra, or dragon, totally dead. It's a bit excessive, I know, but it's very satisfying, especially when your thoroughly-pwned opponent ragdolls across the room like he's been hit with a couple Fus Ro Dahs.

Corrected

@DorostheConqueror:

Daggers are silent for me. I got the thing where enemies detected me as I stealthily power attacked, but that was because I was accidentally doing a forwards power attack, which made me nudge the enemy just before my dagger came down, thus alerting them. Are you sure you're not doing that?

Yes, I'm sure. The noise is slight; usually only enough to tip off one or possibly two enemies if they're close together, but it's there. In fact, I've found that the best way to prevent this is by DOING a forward power attack; start a good deal back and move into them with the strike.

The strangest part is, my sneak is high enough that I can walk into, around, and in front of most enemies without them even seeing me. I can kick clutter over and stare them in the face, but the moment I go for a backstab, BAM. Psychic time! Again, it's not every enemy, usually just bosses now that I've maxed all my stealth skills, but the behavior is perfectly replicable in those instances were it occurs.

No, you just have to make sure that you're always behind them. Even at level 15 sneak I was able to sneak up on a bandit at max speed. Just remember to draw your weapon before you get close because the sound can sometimes alert enemies.